Tag Archives: canned blueberries

And by blues, I mean blueberries! Around this time each year I am reminded just how much I love those tiny indigo berries! Not only do they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, but they are also anti-inflammatory, which is a key driver of all chronic diseases!

Everyone knows that fresh is best and it’s a no-brainer that blueberries consumed raw is when they best deliver their peak power-house performance! Wanting to save them to be enjoyed throughout the year I started spinning my preservation wheels and came up with two very delicious recipes! If you’re looking for something quick and dirty, then the compote recipe is the one for you. If you have the luxury of time and can commit to some babysitting, then this no pectin jam is the way to go! These recipes are interchangeable, so if you prefer a blueberry lemon jam or a blueberry vanilla compote then just swap out the cooking times!

Blueberry Lemon Compote – yields 9 half-pints

11 cups of blueberries

Grated zest and juice of one lemon

1/3 cup honey

1 cup sugar

In a large pot combine blueberries, zest, juice, sugar, and honey over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Ladle compote into hot jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and adjust two-piece lids to fingertip-tight. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Remove canner from heat, wait 5 minutes and then remove jars and allow seals to set for 12-24 hours.

Blueberry Vanilla Jam – yields 4 half-pints

11 cups of blueberries

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/3 cup honey

1 cup sugar

1 Madagascar vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

In a large pot combine blueberries, juice, sugar, honey, vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to low heat and simmer for 45 minutes; skim off any foam that develops. Ladle jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and adjust two-piece lids to fingertip-tight. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Remove canner from heat, wait 5 minutes and then remove jars and allow seals to set for 12-24 hours.

After canning both recipes I still had quite a few blueberries left over. Seeing as how my freezer is full of strawberries I decided to can the remaining berries in a light simple syrup.

Blueberries in Light Syrup

Blueberries

1 cup of sugar for every 4 cups of water

Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat. Fill hot pint jars with blueberries and fill with sugar-water leaving 1/2″ headspace. Wipe rims and adjust two-piece lids to fingertip-tight. Process in a boiling-water bath for 15 minutes. Remove canner from heat, wait 5 minutes and then remove jars and allow seals to set for 12-24 hours.

These jars of berries will really come in handy when it’s cold outside and I want to heat things up with a bit of pie and cobbler making!